Department of Theology

About the department

The 1988 General Conference of the United Methodist Church approved the establishment of Africa University. In March 1992 the Department of Theology and the Department of Agricultural Sciences became the two founding Faculties of Africa University. Subsequently, the first class of the Bachelor of Divinity degree programme was opened to nine students, under the leadership of the founding dean, Prof. David K. Yemba, who in 2005 was elected the Bishop of Central Congo Episcopal Area and in 2008 became the Chancellor of Africa University. In January 2005, Rev Dr. Beauty R. Maenzanise succeeded him, becoming the first female dean of the Faculty.
From its humble beginnings at the farm house the Department has grown in every respect. Since 2002 the faculty is housed in the J.Lawrence McClesky building, thanks to a donation from the South Carolina Annual Conference. There has also been an increase in the number of programmes that the Department offers. Besides the Bachelor of Divinity degree programme, the Department now offers the Master of Theological Studies and the Masters of Arts in Religious Studies. Preparations to offer a doctoral programme are at an advanced stage. The student enrolment has increased to 75 students every year. The staff establishment has also increased four to nine.
FMA offers a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Executive MBA degrees for African managers and administrators. The MBA is offered on a full-time basis over a period of 18 months. The Executive MBA is offered on a part-time basis (meeting on selected weekends).

The mission of the Department of Theology is “to prepare women and men to be servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God” (1Cor 4:1) for the work of the Church of Jesus Christ, in Africa and the world. The Faculty currently has one undergraduate programme, the Bachelor of Divinity Honours (BD Hons) and two graduate programmes, Master in Religious Studies (MA) Master of Theological Studies (M.T.S).

M. E. Mutambara, “The Development Approach of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches: A Case Study of Women’s Training and Development Department.” In Digging Up Our Foremothers Stories of Women in Africa, C. Landman (ed.), 167-182. Pretoria: UNISA Press, 1996.

African Religion: The Quarry of the Rock of Monotheism (Salty Print, South Africa, 2013).

The Church in Mission: A Short History of The United Methodist Church in Zimbabwe, 1897-1997 (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1997).

Introducing Theology to the Laity (currently under review for publication for African Ministry Series” in the USA (2016).

Co-authored chapters in the following books:

Evangelism

“The Biblical, Theological and Wesleyan Foundations for Evangelization and Church Growth in Africa”, Evangelization and Church Growth in Africa the African Context (Nashville: Friendship Resources, 2014).